Author Topic: The moon and other astronomy stuff  (Read 45334 times)

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #100 on: 03 June, 2018, 08:33:34 pm »
Lewis, not Mobberley. Worth following on Twitter.
Martin tweets as @sky_inspector

Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #101 on: 03 June, 2018, 09:41:01 pm »
Thank you - I will have a look. I could do with some inspiration from a fairly local source, rather than shots from the Canaries and such like.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #102 on: 03 June, 2018, 10:03:07 pm »
SnOrbens isn't exotic...

Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #103 on: 03 June, 2018, 10:15:47 pm »
Indeed - I'm possibly in exoticker climes out west of Aylesbury!

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #104 on: 29 September, 2018, 07:51:31 pm »
I was in our local recycling shop today and they had this in what looked to be perfect order for what seemed a very good price.
20180929_174355 by David Martin, on Flickr
20180929_174959 by David Martin, on Flickr
20180929_174411 by David Martin, on Flickr
I'd love to fit a motor to this but have no idea what model or motor I would need.
Any suggestions from the experts out there?
My plan is to fabricate a suitable mount for a DSLR on this.
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #105 on: 29 September, 2018, 08:08:47 pm »
I'll ask my David when he comes back home.

Looks like a decent set-up.

The value and need for a sturdy mounting is neglected by beginners far too often.

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #106 on: 29 September, 2018, 08:37:00 pm »
It seems reasonably OK - not high quality but serviceable, and for just over a score of the britons pounds, a good catch. It has detachable slowmo controls and looks like it has had a motor attached at some point giving the mounts have good use marks on.

Certainly weighs a bit - the mount is cast and weighs more than the legs.
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #107 on: 29 September, 2018, 09:37:22 pm »
It's obviously been home to a hefty scope in the past. Those tube rings suggest something like a 10 inch scope, which would weigh quite a lot at one end.

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #108 on: 29 September, 2018, 10:09:19 pm »
A bit of questioning of prof google suggests it is an entry level mount -  branded as the EQ3-1 from telescop-service, e.g.  https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p5546_TS-Optics-Beginner-Telescope-150-750-mm-with-mount-EQ3-1.html

It seems like there is a motor available  https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p673_TS-Optics-Optics-stepper-motor-drive-for-EQ3-1-mount.html so I may well give that a go but would like some confirmation from someone who actually knows what they are doing.

"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #109 on: 29 September, 2018, 11:34:25 pm »
My David is not very impressed!

What's the tube ring diameter, roughly?

There again, you don't need a HUGE mounting if there's a relatively lightweight DSLR. HEe's gon upstairs now. I'll try and ask him more later.

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #110 on: 29 September, 2018, 11:37:08 pm »
About 140mm. Sure it isn't a gbp1k mount. Question is whether it is usable.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #111 on: 29 September, 2018, 11:51:31 pm »
I'll ask. I may be some time...

fuzzy

Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #112 on: 30 September, 2018, 10:50:08 am »
David, it does look like the EQ3-1 mount. A basic drive system for this would be similar to that which I recently purchased for my EQ3-2 mount. I can't find it on line at the moment but, there is an adaptor plate to mount a camera on an equatorial mount which costs  about £20 or so. One is on my list.

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #113 on: 30 September, 2018, 01:41:46 pm »
The tube clamps are 180mm internal diameter, so about an 8 inch scope. Not too shabby.

The mechanics all seem good so I will take a look at drive systems.
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

fuzzy

Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #114 on: 30 September, 2018, 08:08:48 pm »
That's a big scope for that mount!

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #115 on: 30 September, 2018, 11:42:39 pm »
Consensus on t'interweb appears to be that the mount is OK, to a point[1], but the tripod is rubbish, especially for manual focusing. I would concur. I shall take a look at the mount and consider fabricating better legs if I do not have much joy with them. It may well be a case of adding suitable stiffeners, or replacing with something more robust as it looks like the tripod head is readily removable.

[1] That point is probably well within the intended use with a DSLR.
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #116 on: 01 October, 2018, 09:39:23 am »
Saw a very bright object moving slowly W->E around 10:30 pm last night. Thought at first it was a plane with landing-lights on but it had no nav lights and was absolutely silent. It took about 10 minutes to traverse.

Any ideas?
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #117 on: 01 October, 2018, 09:43:26 am »
ISS?
It is simpler than it looks.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #118 on: 01 October, 2018, 09:47:36 am »
Possibly.  I was thinking of one of these "artistic" satellites like the Humanity Star, but that took a dive back in March.

ETA: checked the NASA sight: ISS it wasn't.

https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/view.cfm?country=France&region=None&city=Strasbourg#.W7Hf0_loS9I
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

fuzzy

Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #119 on: 01 October, 2018, 04:02:03 pm »
The tripod is the weak point of many a mount. I suspect that the tripod illustrated would be serviceable under just the weight of a direct mount  dslr. Not that remedial action to make it stiffer won't help.

The tripod actually looks like the stock offering with many scopes. It appears to be the same as the one I got with my 150mm Newtonian from Skywatcher

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #120 on: 01 October, 2018, 08:40:29 pm »
It has the benefit that it is easily removable to attach a more solid foundation. I shall order the motor and think about how best to add a DSLR to the mount. Maybe drill a home and use a single bolt directly in the dovetail plate, or find a better camera mount.
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

fuzzy

Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #121 on: 01 October, 2018, 08:47:18 pm »
Don't forget that if you are considering long exposure images, polar alignment will be important.

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #122 on: 01 October, 2018, 09:15:06 pm »
Indeed - that is why I was so keen to acquire it when I saw it.
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

Vernon

  • zzzZZZzzz
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #123 on: 01 October, 2018, 10:49:27 pm »
Possibly.  I was thinking of one of these "artistic" satellites like the Humanity Star, but that took a dive back in March.

ETA: checked the NASA sight: ISS it wasn't.

https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/view.cfm?country=France&region=None&city=Strasbourg#.W7Hf0_loS9I

Heavens above can be a useful source of info.
https://www.heavens-above.com/AllSats.aspx?lat=48.5734&lng=7.7521&loc=Strasbourg&alt=141&tz=CET
gives the brightest passes for Strasbourg, you'll need to correct/update for date. There don't seem to be any obvious candidates. ISS was the brightest thing, but about an hour earlier.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: The moon and other astronomy stuff
« Reply #124 on: 02 October, 2018, 02:41:11 pm »
Yeah - must have been a plane after all, but very high if it was. Dunno why it was so bright, either.

Thanks for the site - useful.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight